Caregivers are among the most invisible workers in our society, and possibly among the most underappreciated. Whether the caregiver is a member of the family, a close friend or a professional, the hours are long and lonely, and the work is draining.

Author Michael Fortuna’s new book, “Caregiver Defined: Words That Honor the Work of the Caregiver,” is written for caregivers. It is meant, says the author, to acknowledge their efforts and provide some comfort. The book’s November launch coincides with National Family Caregivers Month and the difficult holiday season for both those who give and receive care.

We learn that Fortuna has long understood the rigors of caring for an ailing family member. When he was just 9-years-old, his 11-year-old brother, Peter, got polio and was paralyzed. Peter spent that first year in a medical facility with scores of others, all dependent on iron lungs. The year was 1955 and the polio epidemic was peaking. Peter went home with a portable respirator but he remained paralyzed.

After school each day, Fortuna tended to his brother’s physical and emotional needs. “That meant feeding him, sharing his daily bedpan needs, and placing plaster casts on his arms and legs at night so his atrophied muscles wouldn’t gnarl like twisted tree roots as he grew.” Sadly, Peter died a year later while Fortuna was away for two weeks at camp — a break his parents wanted for him. Fortuna has since carried the grief and awareness that haunt devoted caregivers.

“This simple book, inspired by my own imperfect bouts with caregiving, is meant to honor caregivers,” writes Fortuna in his book’s introduction. He writes that he strives to make caregivers “aware that their challenges are both recognized and heartily supported.”

“Caregiver Defined” is structured like an illustrated dictionary. Words like “humor” and “cheerleader” and “worth” are accompanied by short, thoughtful descriptions and black-and-white illustrations. Courage, writes Fortuna, “is often nothing more than fear with a positive attitude.” As for wine, he writes that “God made grapes with the caregiver in mind.”

Taken as a whole, “Caregiver Defined” can be viewed as a lexicon of compassion and empathy. It reveals the vast and complicated terrain caregivers traverse. In defining the role of caregiving, the book names the challenges and the attributes. And it offers a rare interlude of compassion that caregivers appreciate.

In a brief interview, Fortuna says that he wanted the book to establish a standard of caring in a world that seems, at times, less compassionate. “I’ve thought a lot about how a single life matters,” says Fortuna. “There is power in what caregivers do. They are making the world a better place, and building our collective consciousness as human beings. They set an example for others. What caregivers do lives in the iCloud of humanity’s good works.”

“Caregiver Defined” is available at Amazon.com or via the book’s website, saveriopress.com, and is the recipient of the 2017 Caregiver Friendly Award from Today’s Caregiver Magazine.

Caregivers who want to interact with other caregivers may visit VoCAREbulary on Facebook and suggest their own words for the caregivers’ lexicon. They can also share their own experiences, if interested. VoCAREbulary came about because caregivers who have read the book began offering their own definitions of their caregiver stories.